(Augusta, GA) - During the Georgia Association of Educators Student Program (GAE-SP) Annual GAE Spring Student Retreat Natasha Adebiyi was elected to serve on the Executive Committee of the Georgia Association of Educators state board. The retreat held at Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA included GAE-SP chapters from institutions across the state, and hosted several workshops that promoted student engagement in elementary, middle, and secondary classrooms.

"Having opportunities like this will help enable us to become effective teachers. It is great to be able to have say in decisions related to education. I am excited for my peers and all of our positions,"Adebiyi said.

The GAE Student Program is a pre-professional program sponsored by the Georgia Association of Educators and the National Education Association; helps prepare education majors for a brighter professional future. Especially for education majors, GAE’s Student Program is designed to provide college students with the opportunity to make their voice heard locally, statewide, and nationally through activities that affect their chosen profession—teaching.

GAE’s Student Program works to help students make that smooth transition from the campus to the classroom by exploring the critical non-instructional aspects of the profession. The Program works with its members to make sure they learn about salaries, competency testing, evaluations, discipline, certification requirements, stress, and political and legislative activities.

The Executive Board of the Paine College Chapter of the Georgia Association of Educators Student Program (GAE-SP) were all nominated and elected to serve as state delegates for the GAE state conference in Atlanta, GA. The state delegates are Alexis Barber, Jameelah Jones, Jordan Webb, Natasha Adebiyi, Robert Whigham, and ShaQuawn Hines.

As state delegates, the students attend each GAE state conference. Each delegate has also applied to become a national delegate. Adebiyi, Jameelah Jones, Alexis Barber, ShaQuawn Hines and Jordan Webb were selected as national delegates. They will attend the National Education Association (NEA) representative assembly conference in Chicago, IL, which takes place June 30-July 5.

For more information contact the Office of Communications and Marketing at 706.396.7591 or Ncarter@paine.edu.